Effect of Interferoh α and Ribavirin Therapy on Serum GB Virus C/Hepatiti G Virus (GBV‐C/HGV) RNA Levels in Patients Chronical Infected with Hepatitis C Virus and GBV‐C/HGV
Open Access
- 1 August 1997
- journal article
- clinical trial
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in The Journal of Infectious Diseases
- Vol. 176 (2) , 421-426
- https://doi.org/10.1086/514059
Abstract
GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) is a newly described virus associated with hepatitis in humans, and GBV-C/HGV coinfection is common in patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). To determine the clinical impact of GBV-C/HGV infection in such patients and the effect of interferon-a and ribavirin therapy on serum GBV-C/HGV RNA levels, GBV-C/HGV RNA was detected and quantitated in serum samples from 62 chronically infected HCV patients by a combination of a qualitative nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and a newly developed quantitative branched DNA assay: 10 patients were positive for serum GBV-C/ HGV RNA. There were no differences in the clinical, biochemical, and histologic features of the patients with GBV-C/HGV-HCV coinfection compared with those with HCV infection alone. Interferon-a treatment caused a marked but usually transient reduction in serum GBV-C/HGV RNA, and ribavirin had, at most, a modest antiviral effect.Keywords
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